Hook and loop fastener and textile products

ABSTRACT

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a hook and loop fastener that not only has excellent engaging properties but is also flexible, generates little ripping noise when the male part and female part are separated, is excellent for sewing to fabric or the like, and is very durable, and a textile product comprising the hook and loop fastener. A hook and loop fastener comprises a fabric A that has a resin layer and a napped fabric B that has a resin layer containing a napped portion and a ground structure portion.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a hook and loop fastener composed of afemale part and a male part, that not only has excellent engagingproperties, but is also flexible, generates little ripping noise whenthe female part and male part are separated, is excellent for sewing tofabric or the like, and is very durable, and textile products comprisingthe hook and loop fastener.

BACKGROUND

Hook and loop fasteners usually are composed of a female part havinglooped or arched engaging elements and a male part having key- ormushroom-shaped hook sections. Hook and loop fasteners are widely usedas fasteners for clothing, shoes, bags, gloves and the like since theyengage with products bearing the hook and loop fasteners to allow easyattachment and detachment (see PTL 1, PTL 2 and PTL 3, for example).

However, while hook and loop fasteners have such an engaging function,one problem associated with them is loud ripping noise generated whenthe female part and male part of a hook and loop fastener are separated.In addition, because the hook sections of the base fabric portion of ahook and loop fastener are hard, they can be difficult to sew ontoclothing, or can damage skin.

In order to improve these problems, flexible hook and loop fastenershave been proposed wherein a fabric containing superfine fibers is usedas the female part while a napped fabric is used as the male part,thereby minimizing the ripping noise when the female part and male partare separated (see PTL 4, for example).

However, this has not led to satisfactory elimination of the problem,and there has been room for improvement in the durability of theengaging properties with repeated attachment and detachment, or washing.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   [PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-173819-   [PTL 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 4354232-   [PTL 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-7124-   [PTL 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 5692958

SUMMARY Technical Problem

The present invention has been devised in light of the backgrounddescribed above, and its object it to provide a hook and loop fastenerthat not only has excellent engaging properties, but is also flexible,generates little ripping noise when the female part and male part areseparated, is excellent for sewing to fabric or the like, and is verydurable, as well as textile products comprising the hook and loopfastener.

Solution to Problem

The present inventors have conducted much diligent research with the aimof achieving the object stated above, and as a result we have foundthat, for a hook and loop fastener composed of a female part and a malepart, the durability of the bonding force is increased by laminating aresin layer on the back sides of the female part and male part (theopposite sides from their bonding surfaces) to increase the rigidity,and upon still further diligent research we have completed thisinvention.

Thus, according to the invention there is provided “a hook and loopfastener composed of a fabric A and a napped fabric B containing anapped portion and a ground structure portion, wherein both the fabric Aand the napped fabric B have resin layers”.

The resin layers are preferably resin coating layers or laminatedlayers. Also, fabric A preferably has a knitted fabric texture. Inaddition, the fabric A preferably includes filament yarn with amonofilament diameter of no greater than 1000 nm. Preferably, thefilament yarn is made of polyester, and consists of multifilaments witha number of filaments of 1000 or more. In the fabric A, preferably thefilament yarn is exposed on the fabric surface in the form of loops. Thethickness of the fabric A is preferably in the range of 0.3 to 3.0 mm.The elongation percentage in either the warp direction or the weftdirection of the fabric A is preferably in the range of 1 to 20%. Thebending resistance in either the warp direction or the weft direction ofthe fabric A is preferably 25 mm or greater. Also, in the napped fabricB, preferably the napped portion is made of polyester and consists ofnapped yarn with single fiber fineness of 2.5 dtex or greater. Thenapping length of the napped portion of the napped fabric B ispreferably in the range of 0.1 to 3.0 mm. The elongation percentage ineither the warp direction or the weft direction of the napped fabric Bis preferably in the range of 1 to 20%. The bending resistance in eitherthe warp direction or the weft direction of the fabric B is preferably25 mm or greater. The tensile shear strength as defined below ispreferably 50 cN/cm² or greater.

For both the fabric A and the napped fabric B, two samples cut to 12 cmlength and 3 cm width in the horizontal direction are layered 5 cm inthe lengthwise direction and across the full width parallel in thelengthwise direction, the two samples are bonded by 2 passes under aload of 9.8 N/cm² (1 kg/cm²) with a contact pressure roller and thenloaded into a tensile tester and subjected to tension parallel to thelengthwise direction of the sample with a pull rate of 300 mm/min and aninitial load of 19.6 cN (0.2 kg), and after measuring the maximumtensile shear strength until separation of the two samples, the tensileshear strength per unit area is calculated by the following formula, andthe average value is calculated for n=5.

F1=S/(L×W)

Here, F1 is the tensile shear strength (cN/cm²), S is the maximumtensile shear load (cN), L is the layering length (cm) and W is thesample width (cm).

According to the invention there are also provided textile productsselected from the group consisting of nursing clothing, medicalclothing, sportswear, outer wear, inner wear, pajamas, men's wear,ladies' wear, bathrobe, working clothes, protective wear, combat wear,hunting wear, footwear, bags, caps, gloves, socks, shoes, bedding,support, connecting members, bandages, safety belts, flooring materials,covers, cushions, base fabrics, supporters, belly bands, aprons, bodycovers, capes, skin care instruments and cosmetic tools, that comprisethe aforementioned hook and loop fastener.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the invention it is possible to obtain a hook and loopfastener that not only has excellent engaging properties, but is alsoflexible, generates little ripping noise when the female part and malepart are separated, is excellent for sewing to fabric or the like, andis very durable, and also textile products comprising the hook and loopfastener.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the napping length of napped yarnaccording to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention will now be explained in detail.

The hook and loop fastener of the invention is a hook and loop fastenercomposed of a fabric A (female part) and a napped fabric B (male part)containing a napped portion and a ground structure portion, wherein boththe fabric A and the napped fabric B have resin layers on their backsides (i.e. the sides opposite their respective bonding surfaces). Theresin layers will also be referred to as “back coatings”.

The resin layers are preferably resin coating layers or film-laminatedlayers.

There are no particular restrictions on the resin used to form the resincoating layers, and examples include acrylate ester copolymer resins,urethane resins, vinyl chloride resins, vinyl acetate resins,styrene-butadiene resins, polyester resins, natural rubbers, isoprenerubbers and silicone rubbers. Of these, resins containing acrylate estercopolymer resins are preferred since they do not require other bindersfor adhesion.

A film-forming resin is preferably a polyester resin, polyethyleneresin, polypropylene resin, nylon resin, polystyrene resin, polyvinylchloride resin or polyvinylidene chloride resin. For the fabric A andthe napped fabric B, it may be the same type or a different type thanthe resin used to form the resin layer.

The method of forming the resin layer may be a publicly known method,such as resin coating by a common method using a knife coater or thelike, or with appropriate heat treatment or drying treatment afterlamination of a film. The viscosity of the resin is preferably in therange of 500 to 1500 cps. The coverage is preferably in the range of 10to 100 g/m², as the solid content. The resin layer is preferably formedover the entire fabric, and it may be formed in a pattern such as adotted pattern, lattice pattern, wood-grain pattern, pebble-grainpattern or the patterns of geometric shapes, characters, logos orabstract patterns.

For fabric A, the texture of the fabric is not particularly restricted,and it may be a woven fabric, knitted fabric or nonwoven fabric obtainedby a common method. Woven fabrics and knitted fabrics are preferred,with knitted fabrics being especially preferred for increasedstretchability. A knitted fabric is preferred to allow firm engagementwith the napped yarn of the male part, by the loops of the knittedfabric. Using the needle surface of the knitted fabric as the surfacethat engages with the male part (the bonding surface) is particularlypreferred, as excellent engaging properties will be obtained.

In addition, the fabric A preferably includes filament yarn with amonofilament diameter of no greater than 1000 nm, since excellentengaging properties will be obtained.

For such filament yarn (hereunder also referred to as “nanofibers”), themonofilament diameter (diameter of the single fiber) is more preferablyin the range of 100 to 900 nm (even more preferably 550 to 900 nm). Interms of the single fiber fineness, a monofilament diameter of 1000 nmcorresponds to 0.01 dtex. With a monofilament diameter of larger than1000 nm it may not be possible to obtain sufficient engaging properties.When the cross-sectional monofilament shape is an atypical cross-sectionother than a circular cross-section, the monofilament diameter is thecircumscribed circle diameter. The monofilament diameter can be measuredby photographing a transection of a fiber with a transmission electronmicroscope. The variation in the single fiber fineness is preferablywithin the range of −20% to +20%.

The number of filaments in the filament yarn is not particularlyrestricted, but it is preferably 1000 or more (more preferably 2000 to10,000), in order to obtain excellent engaging properties. Also, thetotal fineness of the filament yarn (product of the single fiberfineness and the number of filaments) is preferably in the range of 5 to150 dtex.

The form of the fibers of the filament yarn is not particularlyrestricted, but it is preferably in the form of long fiber(multifilament yarn). The cross-sectional shapes of the single fiber arenot particularly restricted, and they may be publicly knowncross-sectional shapes such as circular, triangular, flat or hollow.Incidentally, common air treatment and/or false-twisting/crimping mayalso be carried out.

The type of polymer used to form the filament yarn is not particularlyrestricted but is preferably a polyester-based polymer. Preferredexamples include polyethylene terephthalate, and polytrimethyleneterephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polylactic acid,stereocomplex polylactic acid, and polyesters copolymerized with thirdcomponents. Such polyesters may also be material-recycled or chemicallyrecycled polyesters. They may also be polyesters obtained usingcatalysts containing specific phosphorus compounds and titaniumcompounds, such as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent PublicationNo. 2004-270097 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2004-211268.

If necessary, such polymers may also comprise one or moremicropore-forming agents, cationically dyeable agents, coloringprevention agents, heat stabilizers, fluorescent whitening agents,delustering agents, coloring agents, humectants or inorganic fineparticles, in amounts that do not interfere with the object of theinvention.

The fabric A serving as the female part in the hook and loop fastener ofthe invention is preferably composed entirely of such filament yarn, butother yarn may also be included, either alone or in combinations ofmultiple types. The weight ratio of such other yarn is preferably nogreater than 70 wt % with respect to the fabric weight. Such other yarnis preferably polyester yarn or elastic fiber yarn with a monofilamentdiameter of greater than 1000 nm.

Such polyester yarn is preferably composed of a polyester type mentionedabove. Preferred examples for elastic fiber yarn includewater-absorptive polyether ester elastic fiber yarn composed of apolyether ester elastomer with polybutylene terephthalate as a hardsegment and polyoxyethylene glycol as a soft segment,non-water-absorptive polyether ester elastic fiber yarn composed of apolyether ester elastomer with polybutylene terephthalate as a hardsegment and polytetramethylene oxide glycol as a soft segment, orpolyurethane elastic fiber yarn, polytrimethylene terephthalate yarn,synthetic rubber elastic fiber yarn or natural rubber-based elasticfiber yarn.

The total fineness of the elastic fiber yarn is preferably in the rangeof 5 to 100 dtex (more preferably 10 to 40 dtex).

The fabric A serving as the female part in the hook and loop fastener ofthe invention can be produced by the following production method, forexample. First, a sea-island composite fiber (for nanofiber) isprepared, which is formed of a sea component and an island componenthaving a diameter of no greater than 1000 nm. The sea-island compositefibers used are preferably the sea-island composite fiber multifilamentsdisclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-2364 (100to 1500 islands).

The sea component polymer is preferably polyester, polyamide,polystyrene, polyethylene or the like, which have satisfactoryfiber-forming properties. For example, preferred polymers that arereadily soluble in aqueous alkali solutions are polylactic acid,ultrahigh molecular weight polyalkylene oxide condensed polymers,polyethylene glycol compound-copolymerized polyesters, and polyethyleneglycol-based compound/5-sodiumsulfoisophthalic acid-copolymerizedpolyesters. Preferred among these are polyethylene terephthalate-basedcopolymerized polyesters with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.4 to 0.6,obtained by copolymerizing 6 to 12 mol % 5-sodiumsulfoisophthalic acidwith 3 to 10 wt % polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 4000 to12,000.

The island component polymer, on the other hand, is preferably apolyester, such as fiber-forming polyethylene terephthalate orpolytrimethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polylacticacid, or a polyester obtained by copolymerization of a third component.

If necessary, such polymers may also comprise one or moremicropore-forming agents, cationically dyeable agents, coloringprevention agents, heat stabilizers, fluorescent whitening agents,delustering agents, coloring agents, humectants or inorganic fineparticles, in amounts that do not interfere with the object of theinvention.

The sea-island composite fiber multifilaments composed of the seacomponent polymer and island component polymer described abovepreferably have a sea component with a larger melt viscosity than themelt viscosity of the island component polymer in melt spinning. Thediameter of the island component is preferably in the range of 10 to1000 nm. When the diameters are not circular, the diameters of thecircumscribed circles are measured. The sea-island composite weightratio (sea:island) of the sea-island composite fibers is preferably inthe range of 40:60 to 5:95 and more preferably in the range of 30:70 to10:90.

The sea-island composite fiber multifilaments can be easily produced bythe following method as an example. Specifically, it may be meltspinning using the sea component polymer and the island componentpolymer. The spinneret used for melt spinning may be any desired onehaving a group of hollow pins or micropores for formation of the islandcomponent. The discharged sea-island cross-section composite fibermultifilaments are solidified with cooling air and wound out after beingmelt spun at preferably 400 to 6000 m/min. The obtained unstretchedfilament is either formed into a composite fiber with the desiredstrength, ductility and heat shrinkage property by a separate stretchingstep, or instead of being taken up first, it may be first pulled outonto a roller at a fixed speed and then stretched and taken up. Thefilaments may also be subjected to false-twisting and crimping. Forsea-island composite fiber multifilaments, the single yarn fiberfineness, number of filaments and total fineness are preferably in theranges of single yarn fiber fineness=0.5 to 10.0 dtex, number offilaments=5 to 75, total fineness=30 to 170 dtex (preferably 30 to 100dtex).

The sea-island composite fiber multifilaments may be used alone, or ifnecessary, they may be used together with other yarn (for example,elastic fiber yarn) having a monofilament diameter of greater than 1000nm for knitting or weaving of fabric A. The texture of the fabric A inthis case is not particularly restricted, and it may be a woven fabric,knitted fabric or nonwoven fabric obtained by a common method. Wovenfabrics and knitted fabrics are preferred, with knitted fabrics beingespecially preferred. A knitted fabric is preferred to allow firmengagement with the napped yarn of the male part, by the loops of theknitted fabric. Using the needle surface of the knitted fabric as thesurface that engages with the male part is particularly preferred, asexcellent engaging properties will be obtained.

The woven texture of a woven fabric may be, for example, one of thethree foundational types of weaves, i.e. a plain weave, twill weave orsatin weave, or a derivative weave such as derivative weave orderivative twill weave, a half double weave such as warp backed weave orweft backed weave, a pile weave such as warp velvet, towel or velour, ora weft pile weave such as velveteen, weft velvet, velvet or corduroy.Incidentally, a woven fabric having such a woven texture can be woven bya common method using a common loom such as a rapier loom or air jetloom. The number of layers is also not particularly restricted, and thewoven fabric may have a single layer or a multilayer structure of two ormore layers.

The type of knitted fabric may be a weft knitted fabric, or a warpknitted fabric. Preferred examples of weft knitted textures includeplain stitch, rib stitch, interlock stitch, purl stitch, tuck stitch,float stitch, rib-and-tuck stitch, lace stitch and plating stitch. Apreferred example is a plating plain stitch having composite loopsformed of two different types of yarns formed with a plain stitch braid,in which case a bare plain stitch having elastic fiber yarn as one ofthe yarns is preferred. Preferred examples of warp braids include singledenbigh stitch, single atlas stitch, double cord stitch, half stitch,lined stitch and jacquard stitch. Incidentally, the knitting may beknitting by a common method using a common knitting machine such as acircular knitting machine, flat knitting machine, tricot knittingmachine or raschel machine. The number of layers is also notparticularly restricted, and the knitted fabric may have a single layeror a multilayer structure of two or more layers.

The fabric is then subjected to aqueous alkali solution treatment,wherein the sea component of the sea-island composite fibermultifilaments is dissolved away with an aqueous alkali solution toconvert the sea-island composite fiber multifilaments into filament yarn(nanofibers) having a monofilament diameter of 10 to 1000 nm. Theconditions for the aqueous alkali solution treatment may be treatment ata temperature of 55 to 70° C. using an aqueous NaOH solution with aconcentration of 1 to 4%.

It may also be subjected to various processing steps in order to impartfunctionality, such as dyeing, raising treatment, water repellencytreatment, water absorption treatment or buffing treatment by commonmethods, or ultraviolet shielding, or processing using antistaticagents, antimicrobial agents, deodorants, insecticides, luminous agents,retroreflective agents, minus ion generators and the like.

The resin layer may then be formed as described above to obtain thefabric A.

Since the fabric A obtained in this manner has a resin layer on the sideopposite the bonding surface, it exhibits high rigidity and increasedbonding force durability. Including filament yarn A as superfine fiberswill allow it to be suitably used as the female part of a hook and loopfastener.

For fabric A, preferably the filament yarn (nanofibers) are exposed oneither one or both of the front side and the back side. If the filamentyarn is not exposed on the front side or the back side, it may not beable to engage with the napped yarn of the male part.

The thickness of the fabric A is preferably in the range of 0.3 to 3.0mm. The basis weight of the fabric is preferably in the range of 30 to500 g/m².

The elongation percentage in either or both the warp direction and theweft direction of the fabric A is preferably in the range of 1 to 20%.

The bending resistance in either or both the warp direction and the weftdirection of the fabric A is preferably 25 mm or greater (preferably 25to 80 mm).

According to the invention, the female part may be composed of fabric Athat has been appropriately cut, being the fabric A alone, or it may bedecoratively stitched so that the periphery of the fabric A does notfray, and appropriate ornamentation may also be added. When the fabric Ais cut, because the fabric A has a resin layer and therefore has highrigidity, an excellent effect is exhibited whereby wrinkles are lesslikely to be generated at the cut locations.

The hook and loop fastener of the invention also includes the nappedfabric B as the male part. The napped fabric B has a ground structureportion with a woven or knitted texture composed of organic fiber yarn,and a napped portion composed of multiple napped yarns entangled orwoven with the ground structure portion, and extending outward to atleast one side from the ground structure portion. The napped yarn may bein the form of loop piles, but is preferably in the form of cut piles inorder to obtain strong engaging properties.

The napped yarn preferably has a single fiber fineness of 0.5 dtex orgreater (preferably 0.5 to 5.0 dtex). If the single fiber fineness issmaller than 0.5 dtex it will be difficult to retain the napped state,and it may not be possible to obtain strong engaging properties whenengaging with the female part using the napped fabric B as the malepart.

The napping length of the napped yarn is preferably in the range of 0.1to 10 mm. If the napping length is less than 0.1 mm, the napping lengthwill be too small and it may not be possible to obtain strong engagingproperties when engaging with the female part using the napped fabric Bas the male part. Conversely, if the napping length is greater than 10mm, it will be difficult to retain the napped state, and it may not bepossible to obtain strong engaging properties when engaging with thefemale part using the napped fabric B as the male part. According to theinvention, the napping length is the height of L in FIG. 1.

The napped yarn density of the napped portion formed by the napped yarnis preferably 3000 dtex/cm² or greater (more preferably 5000 to 100,000dtex/cm²). If the napped yarn density is lower than 3000 dtex/cm², thenapped yarn will tend to collapse, and therefore it will be difficult toretain the napped state and it may not be possible to obtain strongengaging properties when engaging with the female part using the nappedfabric B as the male part.

Such napped yarn density can be measured by the following method.Specifically, the front side of the napped fabric is photographed (200×magnification) using a microscope (model: VHX-900) by Keyence Corp., andthe number of napped yarns per 1 cm² (1 cm×1 cm) area is measured forcalculation by the following formula.

Napped yarn density (dtex/cm²)=single fiber fineness (dtex)×napped yarnnumber (number/cm²)

There are no particular restrictions on the type of fibers forming thenapped yarn, and they may be common fibers such as cotton, wool, hemp,viscose rayon fiber, polyester fiber, polyether ester fiber, acrylicfiber, nylon fiber, polyolefin fiber, cellulose acetate fiber or aramidfiber. Particularly preferred among these are polyester-based fibersmade of polyester, mentioned above, from the viewpoint of recyclingproperties and rigidity.

If necessary, the resin forming the fibers may also contain one or morematte agents (titanium dioxide), micropore-forming agents (organicsulfonic acid metal salts), coloring prevention agents, heatstabilizers, flame retardants (diantimony trioxide), fluorescentwhitening agents, color pigments, antistatic agents (sulfonic acid metalsalts), moisture absorbents (polyoxyalkylene glycols) or antimicrobialagents, or other inorganic particles.

The form of the napped yarn may be uncrimped napped yarn, or crimpednapped yarn obtained by further heat treatment of side-by-side latentcrimping composite fibers by a false-twisting crimping method ormachine-crimping method, and while it is not particularly restricted, itis preferably uncrimped napped yarn in order to obtain strong engagingproperties.

There are no particular restrictions on the single-fiber cross-sectionalshapes of the napped yarn, and they may have common circularcross-sections, or alternatively triangular, flat, necked flat,cross-shaped, hexagonal or hollow cross-sectional shapes.

For the napped fabric B, the ground structure portion has a woven orknitted texture made of organic fiber yarn. The fibers composing theorganic fiber yarn may be the same fibers as mentioned for the nappedyarn. Particularly preferred are polyester-based fibers, from theviewpoint of recycling properties.

The form of the organic fiber yarn composing the ground structureportion is not particularly restricted, but it is preferably in the formof long fiber (multifilament yarn). The single fiber fineness and totalfineness of the organic fiber yarn are preferably a single fiberfineness of 0.5 to 5.0 dtex and a total fineness of 30 to 300 dtex, solong as the feel of the fabric is not impaired. Moreover, there are norestrictions on the single-fiber cross-sectional shapes, and they mayhave common circular cross-sections, or alternatively triangular, flat,necked flat, cross-shaped, hexagonal or hollow cross-sectional shapes.In addition, the organic fiber yarn may be false twisted crimp finishedyarn or composite yarn obtained by air intermingling or composite falsetwisting of two or more types of constituent yarns, or covering yarnhaving elastic yarn situated as the core and non-elastic yarn situatedas the sheath.

The napped fabric B may be more easily obtained by the followingproduction process, for example.

First, yarn composed of fibers with a single fiber fineness of 0.5 dtexor greater (preferably 0.5 to 5.0 dtex) as the yarn for the napped yarn,and yarn composed of the aforementioned fibers as the organic fiber yarnfor the ground structure portion, are used for knitting or weaving of anordinary napped fabric (loop pile fabric), after which the tip sectionsof the loop piles are cut as necessary to form cut piles.

In order to obtain a napped fabric in which the ground structure portionhas a braided texture, a method may be used in which a ground weave isknitted, a loop pile texture such as a sinker pile, pole tricot pile ordouble raschel pile is formed extending over it, and the loop pile issheared. A pole tricot pile is obtained by forming the pile knittedportion of the tricot braided texture into a loop pile using a raisingmachine.

On the other hand, in order to obtain the napped fabric B wherein theground structure portion has a woven fabric texture, a method may beused in which a warp pile woven fabric or weft pile woven fabric iswoven and the loop piles are cut, or a moquette woven fabric is wovenand the pile yarns are center cut.

The napped fabric B obtained in this manner may also be subjected tovarious processing steps in order to impart functionality, such asdyeing, water repellency treatment, water absorption treatment orbuffing treatment by common methods, or ultraviolet shielding, orprocessing using antistatic agents, antimicrobial agents, deodorants,insecticides, luminous agents, retroreflective agents, minus iongenerators and the like.

The resin layer may then be formed as described above to obtain thenapped fabric B.

According to the invention, the male part may be composed of the nappedfabric B that has been appropriately cut, being the napped fabric Balone, or it may be decoratively stitched so that the periphery of thenapped fabric B does not fray, and appropriate ornamentation may also beadded. When the fabric B is cut, since the fabric B has a resin layerand therefore has high rigidity, an excellent effect is exhibitedwhereby wrinkles are less likely to be generated at the cut locations.

The napping length of the napped portion of the napped fabric B ispreferably in the range of 0.1 to 3.0 mm.

The elongation percentage in either the warp or the weft direction ofthe napped fabric B is preferably in the range of 1 to 20%.

The bending resistance in either the warp or the weft direction of thefabric B is preferably 25 mm or greater (preferably 25 to 80 mm).

The hook and loop fastener of the invention is composed of a female partcomprising the fabric A and a male part comprising the napped fabric B,and it has excellent engaging properties when the fabric A engages withthe napped portions of the napped fabric B. The tensile shear strengthas defined below is preferably 50 cN/cm² or greater (preferably 50 to300 cN/cm²).

For both the fabric A and the napped fabric B, two samples cut to 12 cmlength and 3 cm width in the horizontal direction are layered 5 cm inthe lengthwise direction and across the full width parallel in thelengthwise direction, the two samples are bonded by 2 passes under aload of 9.8 N/cm² (1 kg/cm²) with a contact pressure roller and thenloaded into a tensile tester and subjected to tension parallel to thelengthwise direction of the sample with a pull rate of 300 mm/min and aninitial load of 19.6 cN (0.2 kg), and after measuring the maximumtensile shear strength until separation of the two samples, the tensileshear strength per unit area is calculated by the following formula, andthe average value is calculated for n=5.

F1=S/(L×W)

Here, F1 is the tensile shear strength (cN/cm²), S is the maximumtensile shear load (cN), L is the layering length (cm) and W is thesample width (cm).

Since the hook and loop fastener of the invention comprises the fabric Aand napped fabric B, it is flexible and generates little ripping noisewhen the female part and the male part are separated. In addition, itsability to be stitched with other fabrics and the like is alsoexcellent. It also has very durable bonding force.

A textile product according to the invention is a textile productselected from the group consisting of sportswear, outer wear, innerwear, men's wear, ladies' wear, medical clothing, nursing clothing,bathrobes, working clothes, protective wear, footwear, bags, caps,gloves, socks, beddings, support belts, base fabrics, car seats,supporters, wiping utensils, skin care instruments and cosmetic tools,comprising the aforementioned hook and loop fastener. Since such atextile product employs the hook and loop fastener described above, itnot only has excellent engaging properties, but is also flexible,generates little ripping noise when the female part and male part areseparated, and is excellent for sewing to fabrics or the like. It alsohas very durable bonding force.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will now be explained in greater detail byexamples and comparative examples, with the understanding that theinvention is not limited only to the examples. The values measured inthe examples were obtained by the following methods.

<Melt Viscosity>

After setting in the orifice of an extruder at the melting temperatureduring spinning of the dried polymer and maintaining a molten state for5 minutes, several levels of load are applied for extrusion, duringwhich time the shear rate and melt viscosity are plotted. The plots werecarefully joined to draw a shear rate-melt viscosity curve, and the meltviscosity at a shear rate of 1000 seconds⁻¹ was noted.

<Melting Rate>

Filaments of the sea and island components were taken up each at aspinning speed of 1000 to 2000 m/min from a 0.3ϕ-0.6 L×24 H nozzle, andstretched to a residual elongation in the range of 30 to 60%, to obtaina multifilament with a total fineness of 84 dtex/24 fil. The reducingrate was calculated from the dissolution time and degree of dissolutionwith a liquor to goods ratio of 100, at a temperature for dissolution ineach solvent.

<Monofilament Diameter>

After photographing the fabric with a scanning electron microscope SEM,the monofilament diameter was measured for n=5 locations, and theaverage value was calculated.

<Ductility>

This was measured according to JIS L 1096 8.12.

<Thickness>

This was measured according to JIS L 1096 8.5.

<Bending Resistance>

This was measured according to JIS L 1096 8.21.1 A.

<Tensile Shear Strength>

For both the fabric A and the napped fabric B, two samples cut to 12 cmlength and 3 cm width in the horizontal direction were layered 5 cm inthe lengthwise direction and across the full width parallel in thelengthwise direction, the two samples were bonded by 2 passes under aload of 9.8 N/cm² (1 kg/cm²) with a contact pressure roller and thenloaded into a tensile tester and subjected to tension parallel to thelengthwise direction of the sample with a pull rate of 300 mm/min and aninitial load of 19.6 cN (0.2 kg), and after measuring the maximumtensile shear strength until separation of the two samples, the tensileshear strength per unit area was calculated by the following formula,and the average value was calculated for n=5.

F1=S/(L×W)

Here, F1 is the tensile shear strength (cN/cm²), S is the maximumtensile shear load (cN), L is the layering length (cm) and W is thesample width (cm).

<Napping Length (Pile Height) of Napped Yarn>

A microscope (model VH-6300) by Keyence Corp. was used to photograph thecross-section of the napped fabric (50× magnification), the overallthickness and the ground structure portion thickness were measured, andthe napping length of the napped yarn was calculated by the followingformula. The overall thickness was measured as the distance from thelowest section of the ground structure portion to the highest section ofthe napped yarn. The average value for n=5 was calculated. The pileheight was measured in the same manner.

L=Overall thickness (mm)−ground structure portion thickness (mm)

Example 1

Using polyethylene terephthalate (melt viscosity at 280° C.: 1200 poise,matte agent content: 0 wt %) as the island component and polyethyleneterephthalate copolymerized with 6 mol % 5-sodiumsulfoisophthalic acidand 6 wt % polyethylene glycol with a number-average molecular weight of4000 (melt viscosity at 280° C.: 1750 poise) as the sea component(melting rate ratio (sea/island)=230), a sea-island compositeunstretched fiber with sea:island=30:70, number of islands=836, was usedfor melt spinning at a spinning temperature of 280° C. and a spinningspeed of 1500 m/min and taken up. The obtained unstretched filament wasstretched with a roller at a stretching temperature of 80° C. and a drawratio of 2.5 and then heat set at 150° C. and taken up. The obtainedsea-island composite fiber multifilaments (fibers for nanofiber,stretched yarn) had a total fineness of 56 dtex/10 fil, and observationof the filament transection with a transmission electron microscope(TEM) revealed round island shapes with an island diameter of 700 nm.

Next, with sea-island composite fiber multifilaments (fibers fornanofiber) and polyester false twisted crimp finished yarn (product ofTeijin, Ltd., 56 dtex/72 fil) as yarn for the pile yarn and polyesterfalse twisted crimp finished yarn (product of Teijin, Ltd., 167 dtex/48fil) as yarn for the ground weave, a 24 G, 26-inch diameter circularknitting machine (product of Fukuhara Works, Ltd.) was used for knittingof a circular knit greige with a sinker pile texture (greige for fabricA). Next, in order to remove the sea component of the sea-islandcomposite fiber multifilaments of the obtained circular knit greige, theknitted fabric was subjected to 8.3% alkali reduction treatment at 70°C. in a 3.5% NaOH aqueous solution. This was followed by high-pressuredyeing at 130° C. and dry heat setting at 170° C., after which apolyacrylate copolymer resin (viscosity: 1000 cps) was back coated onthe back side with a knife coater to a coverage of 25 g/m² as solidcontent and then dried to obtain a knitted fabric (fabric A).

When the front side and cross-section of the obtained knitted fabric(fabric A) were observed with a scanning electron microscope SEM, theknitted fabric was confirmed to have filament yarn with a meanmonofilament diameter of 700 nm that was included in loop form in thepile sections on the front side, and uniformly opened. The thickness ofthe knitted fabric (fabric A) was 0.85 mm, the elongation percentage inthe warp direction was 4.5%, and the bending resistance in the warpdirection was 50 mm.

Separately, a warp knitted greige (greige for napped fabric B) with apile texture (front: 10/56, middle: 10/12, back: 23/10) was knitted withcommon polyester filament yarn (product of Teijin, Ltd., 33 dtex/12 fil)as yarn for the ground weave and common polyester filament yarn (productof Teijin, Ltd., 84 dtex/24 fil) as yarn for the napped yarn, using a 36G warp knitting machine (product of Carl Mayer KK.). The obtained warpknitted greige was used as preset for dry heat setting at 160° C., andhigh-pressure dyeing at 130° C. This was followed by shearing and dryheat setting at 170° C., after which a polyacrylate copolymer resin(viscosity: 1000 cps) was back coated on the back side with a knifecoater to a coverage of 75 g/m² solid content, and then dried to obtaina napped knit fabric (napped fabric B).

When the fabric front side and cross-section of the obtained napped knitfabric (napped fabric B) were observed with a scanning electronmicroscope SEM and a microscope, it was found to be composed of a nappedportion comprising cut piles and a ground structure portion, the singlefiber fineness of the napped yarn was 3.5 dtex, the napping length was1.2 mm, the elongation percentage in the warp direction was 2.5% and thebending resistance in the warp direction was 48 mm.

The knitted fabric (fabric A) and napped knit fabric (napped fabric B)were engaged with each other, with the front side of the napped portionof the napped fabric B in contact with the fabric A, and upon measuringthe tensile shear strength F1, it was found to exhibit excellentengaging properties, represented by tensile shear strength F1=128cN/cm². When the female part (fabric A) and the male part (napped fabricB) were separated, absolutely no ripping noise was generated and thefeel was also soft. When the knitted fabric (fabric A) and napped knitfabric (napped fabric B) were sewn into pajamas as a hook and loopfastener, the sewing operation was also satisfactory. The engagingproperties were not reduced even with washing.

Example 2

The 56 dtex/10 fil sea-island composite fiber multifilaments obtained inExample 1 (fibers for nanofiber) were used alone to obtain a warpknitted greige (greige for fabric A) having a half texture (front:10/23, middle: 23/10, back: 10/12), using a 28 G warp knitting machine(product of Carl Mayer KK.). Next, in order to remove the sea componentof the sea-island composite fiber multifilaments of the obtained warpknitted greige, the knitted fabric was subjected to 31% alkali reductiontreatment at 70° C. in a 3.5% NaOH aqueous solution. This was followedby high-pressure dyeing at 130° C. and dry heat setting at 170° C.,after which the back side was coated with an acrylic resin in the samemanner as Example 1 and dried to obtain a knitted fabric (fabric A). Thethickness of the knitted fabric (fabric A) was 0.40 mm, the elongationpercentage in the warp direction was 3.0%, and the bending resistance inthe warp direction was 39 mm.

Next, the knitted fabric (fabric A) and napped knit fabric (nappedfabric B) obtained in Example 1 were engaged with each other, with thefront side of the napped portion of the napped fabric B in contact withthe fabric A, and upon measuring the tensile shear strength F1, it wasfound to have excellent engaging properties, represented by tensileshear strength F1=97 cN/cm². When the female part (fabric A) and themale part (napped fabric B) were separated, absolutely no ripping noisewas generated and the feel was also soft. When the knitted fabric(fabric A) and napped knit fabric (napped fabric B) were sewn intopajamas as a hook and loop fastener, the sewing operation was alsosatisfactory. The engaging properties were not reduced even withwashing.

Example 3

Sea-island composite fiber multifilaments, 56 dtex/10 fil, (fibers fornanofiber) were obtained in the same manner as Example 1. Next, twostretched yarns were interlaced with multifilaments (33 dtex/12 fil)composed of common polyethylene terephthalate, to obtain composite yarn.The composite yarn was twisted 300 turns/m (S direction) and the totalamount distributed as warp yarn, while 2 multifilament false twistedcrimp finished yarns (56 dtex/144 fil) composed of common polyethyleneterephthalate were combined and doubled at 300 turns/m (S direction) anddistributed in the total amount as weft yarn, and a common weavingmethod was carried out at a woven density with a warp density of171/2.54 cm and a weft density of 67/2.54 cm, to obtain 5 satin wovenfabric greiges (greiges for fabric A). Next, in order to remove the seacomponent of the sea-island composite fiber multifilaments of theobtained woven fabric greige, it was subjected to 21% alkali reductiontreatment at 70° C. in a 3.5% NaOH aqueous solution. This was followedby high-pressure dyeing at 130° C. and dry heat setting at 170° C.,after which the back side was coated with an acrylic resin in the samemanner as Example 1 and dried to obtain fabric A. The thickness of thewoven fabric (fabric A) was 0.33 mm, the elongation percentage in thewarp direction was 1.8%, and the bending resistance in the warpdirection was 32 mm.

Next, the woven fabric (fabric A) and napped knit fabric (napped fabricB) obtained in Example 1 were engaged with each other, with the frontside of the napped portion of the napped fabric B in contact with thefabric A, and upon measuring the tensile shear strength F1, it was foundto have excellent engaging properties, represented by tensile shearstrength F1=55 cN/cm². When the female part (fabric A) and the male part(napped fabric B) were separated, absolutely no ripping noise wasgenerated and the feel was also soft. When the woven fabric (fabric A)and napped knit fabric (napped fabric B) were sewn into pajamas as ahook and loop fastener, the sewing operation was also satisfactory. Theengaging properties were not reduced even with washing.

Example 4

A knitted fabric (fabric A) was obtained in the same manner asExample 1. Separately, as yarns for the ground weave, common polyestercrimp finished yarn (product of Teijin, Ltd., 44 dtex/48 fil) wasdistributed as the warp yarn for the ground weave and common polyesterfalse twisted crimp finished yarn (product of Teijin, Ltd., 56 dtex/24fil) was distributed as the weft yarn for the ground weave, while commonpolyester filament yarn (product of Teijin, Ltd., 84 dtex/24 fil) wasused as the yarn for the napped yarn, with the woven density at a warpdensity of 165/2.54 cm and a weft density of 200/2.54 cm, to obtain awoven fabric greige with a pile texture (greige for napped fabric B),using a velvet loom. The obtained woven fabric greige was used as presetfor dry heat setting at 160° C., and high-pressure dyeing at 130° C.This was followed by shearing and dry heat setting at 170° C., afterwhich the back side was coated with an acrylic resin in the same manneras Example 1 and dried to obtain a napped weave (napped fabric B).

Next, the knitted fabric (fabric A) and napped weave (napped fabric B)obtained in the same manner as Example 1 were engaged with each other,with the front side of the napped portion of the napped fabric B incontact with the fabric A, and upon measuring the tensile shear strengthF1, it was found to have excellent engaging properties, represented bytensile shear strength F1=118 cN/cm². When the female part (fabric A)and the male part (napped fabric B) were separated, absolutely noripping noise was generated and the feel was also soft. When the knittedfabric (fabric A) and napped weave (napped fabric B) were sewn intopajamas as a hook and loop fastener, the sewing operation was alsosatisfactory. The engaging properties were not reduced even withwashing.

Comparative Example 1

After obtaining sea-island composite fiber multifilaments (fiber fornanofibers), 56 dtex/10 fil, in the same manner as Example 1, a circularknit greige with a sinker pile texture (greige for fabric A) was knittedin the same manner as Example 1. Next, in order to remove the seacomponent of the sea-island composite fibers of the obtained circularknit greige, the knitted fabric was subjected to 8.3% alkali reductiontreatment at 70° C. in a 3.5% NaOH aqueous solution. This was followedby high-pressure dyeing at 130° C., and dry heat setting at 170° C. asthe final setting, to obtain fabric A (without a back coating). Thethickness of the knitted fabric (fabric A) was 0.83 mm, the warpdirection/weft direction elongation percentage was 21.5%/62%, and thewarp direction/weft direction bending resistance was 22 mm/18 mm.

Next, the knitted fabric and napped knit fabric (napped fabric B)obtained in Example 1 were engaged with each other, with the front sideof the napped portion of the napped fabric B in contact with the knittedfabric, but upon measuring the tensile shear strength F1, it was foundto have inadequate engaging properties, represented by tensile shearstrength F1=32 cN/cm².

Comparative Example 2

A knitted fabric (fabric A) was obtained in the same manner asExample 1. Separately, a warp knitted greige (greige for napped fabricB) was knitted in the same manner as Example 1. Next, the obtained warpknitted greige was used as preset for dry heat setting at 160° C., andhigh-pressure dyeing at 130° C. This was followed by shearing and dryheat setting at 170° C. as the final setting, to obtain napped fabric B(without a back coating). The warp direction/weft direction elongationpercentage of the napped knit fabric (napped fabric B) was 6.4%/4.0%,and the warp direction/weft direction bending resistance was 20 mm/21mm.

The knitted fabric (fabric A) and napped knit fabric (napped fabric B)were then engaged with each other, with the front side of the nappedportion of the napped fabric B in contact with the fabric A, but uponmeasuring the tensile shear strength F1, it was found to have inadequateengaging properties, represented by tensile shear strength F1=44 cN/cm².

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the invention there is provided a hook and loop fastenerthat not only has excellent engaging properties, but is also flexible,generates little ripping noise when the female part and male part areseparated, is excellent for sewing to fabrics and the like, and is verydurable, as well as textile products comprising the hook and loopfastener, and therefore the invention has very high industrial value.

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

-   1 Ground structure portion-   2 Napped yarn-   3 Napped portion

1. A hook and loop fastener composed of a fabric A and a napped fabric Bcontaining a napped portion and a ground structure portion, wherein boththe fabric A and the napped fabric B have resin layers.
 2. The hook andloop fastener according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer is a resincoating layer or laminated layer.
 3. The hook and loop fasteneraccording to claim 1, wherein the fabric A has a knitted fabric texture.4. The hook and loop fastener according to claim 1, wherein the fabric Aincludes filament yarn having a monofilament diameter of no greater than1000 nm.
 5. The hook and loop fastener according to claim 4, wherein thefilament yarn is made of polyester and consists of multifilaments with anumber of filaments of 1000 or more.
 6. The hook and loop fasteneraccording to claim 4, wherein in the fabric A, the filament yarn isexposed on the fabric surface in the form of loops.
 7. The hook and loopfastener according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the fabric A isin the range of 0.3 to 3.0 mm.
 8. The hook and loop fastener accordingto claim 1, wherein the elongation percentage in either the warpdirection or the weft direction of the fabric A is in the range of 1 to20%.
 9. The hook and loop fastener according to claim 1, wherein thebending resistance in either the warp direction or the weft direction ofthe fabric A is 25 mm or greater.
 10. The hook and loop fasteneraccording to claim 1, wherein in the napped fabric B, the napped portionis made of polyester and consists of napped yarn with single fiberfineness of 2.5 dtex or greater.
 11. The hook and loop fasteneraccording to claim 1, wherein the napping length of the napped portionin the napped fabric B is in the range of 0.1 to 3.0 mm.
 12. The hookand loop fastener according to claim 1, wherein the elongationpercentage in either the warp direction or the weft direction of thenapped fabric B is in the range of 1 to 20%.
 13. The hook and loopfastener according to claim 1, wherein the bending resistance in eitherthe warp direction or the weft direction of the fabric B is 25 mm orgreater.
 14. The hook and loop fastener according to claim 1, whereinthe tensile shear strength according to the following definition is 50cN/cm² or greater: For both the fabric A and the napped fabric B, twosamples cut to 12 cm length and 3 cm width in the horizontal directionare layered 5 cm in the lengthwise direction and across the full widthparallel in the lengthwise direction, the two samples are bonded by 2passes under a load of 9.8 N/cm² (1 kg/cm²) with a contact pressureroller and then loaded into a tensile tester and subjected to tensionparallel to the lengthwise direction of the sample with a pull rate of300 mm/min and an initial load of 19.6 cN (0.2 kg), and after measuringthe maximum tensile shear strength until separation of the two samples,the tensile shear strength per unit area is calculated by the followingformula, and the average value is calculated for n=5:F1=S/(L×W) F1 is the tensile shear strength (cN/cm²), S is the maximumtensile shear load (cN), L is the layering length (cm) and W is thesample width (cm).
 15. Textile products selected from the groupconsisting of nursing clothing, medical clothing, sportswear, outerwear, inner wear, pajamas, men's wear, ladies' wear, bathrobe, workingclothes, protective wear, combat wear, hunting wear, footwear, bags,caps, gloves, socks, shoes, bedding, support, connecting members,bandages, safety belts, flooring materials, covers, cushions, basefabrics, supporters, belly bands, aprons, body covers, capes, skin careinstruments and cosmetic tools, that comprise a hook and loop fasteneraccording to claim
 1. 16. The hook and loop fastener according to claim2, wherein the fabric A has a knitted fabric texture.